經律異相 24.33

24.33

When the monks had finished eating, they were to converse further with the king. The king agreed. Desiring to offer various gifts, he made offerings of them all. At that time, the king said to a monk named Sarvāṅga: 'I shall donate to the Saṅgha one hundred thousand pieces of gold and a thousand jars of silver and lapis lazuli; proclaim my name in the great assembly as making the offering.' Aśoka's son, named Kuṇāla, went to his father's side, and being afraid of his father, did not dare speak; he raised two fingers and called out: 'So be it!' The monk announced that he would perform merits double that of his father. The assembly laughed heartily. Seeing the assembly laugh, the king said to the great minister Radhagupta: 'Because what you did was wrong, the people laugh.' Radhagupta replied: 'When many people wish to create merit, they certainly wish to double it.' Aśoka replied: 'I shall offer three hundred thousand pieces of gold to the monks, and three thousand jars filled with scented water.' The king also said: 'Venerable Ones, I now give the storehouses of the seven treasures, all the officials and ministers of the great earth, along with my own person and Kuṇāla, entirely as a donation to the Saṅgha.' (Extracted from fascicle 1 of the Sūtra of King Aśoka).